VAR cannot come soon enough, a left footed assist from Nobes and more- Talking Points from West Ham 2-2 Leicester

West Ham’s penultimate home game of the 2018/19 Premier League season saw Manuel Pellegrini’s side draw 2-2 with Leicester. In front of their second biggest crowd of the season, the Hammers took the lead twice, only for the Foxes to come from behind on both occasions and take home a point.

Here are our talking points from the game

VAR cannot come soon enough: If it was Felipe Anderson’s disallowed goal against Manchester United last week, this time it was Lucas Perez’s turn. Just before Harvey Barnes’ equaliser, Perez had the ball in the back of the net, but 3-1 remained 2-1 as the linesman had his flag up. Both decisions that would’ve gone in West Ham’s favour with VAR present and given how the games panned out, potentially six points to Pellegrini’s men instead of the single they eventually had to be content with.

A left footed assist from Mark Noble!: And what a cracking one it was too! A pinpoint cross from the Hammers skipper for Michail Antonio to nod in for the game’s opening goal, one that the likes of Felipe Anderson and Robert Snodgrass would’ve been proud to have to their name. The finish was equally good as well (and so was Antonio’s celebration with the claret carpet!)

West Ham need to avoid switching off: Leicester did nothing of note in the first half, but came back into the game once West Ham decided to sit back after Antonio’s opener. The Hammers decided to attack again after Vardy’s equaliser and were reward with Lucas Perez putting them in front. They would’ve probably even been 3-1 up had the linesman not wrongly disallowed Perez’s second goal.

Was that Lucas Perez’s last act in a West Ham shirt? Perez has flattered to deceive since his move from Arsenal. The fixture against Cardiff in December and this one here against Leicester have been the rare bright points in an otherwise very disappointing campaign from the Spaniard.

Lee Probert keeps his cards in his pocket: Referee Lee Probert chose to keep his cards in his pocket in an attempt to let the game flow. There were plenty of crunching tackles from both sides, and it made for an interesting game. Among referees who’ve been in charge of more than 10 Premier League games this season, Probert has the second lowest yellow card rate per fixture (only Graham Scott is lower than him). He eventually carded two players- both West Ham ones (Declan Rice and Robert Snodgrass)